SAN DIEGO — Embattled San Diego Mayor Bob Filner on Wednesday reached a tentative deal involving a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against him and the city.
City Attorney Jan Goldsmith said a proposed resolution was reached and it will be presented to the City Council during closed session Friday. No details were released, and it was unclear whether a resignation was part of the deal.
Talk show host Jerry Springer defended Dr. Phil McGraw’s controversial drunken sex tweet on CNN Wednesday, arguing that the topic “should be discussed.”
The tweet in question came from talk show host Dr. Phil’s Twitter account Tuesday:
Imation Corporation Japan announced that they will release the 2.4GHz digital wireless stereo speaker system “SP-TV24WA” under the brand of TDK Life on Record.
By keeping “SP-TV24WA” near you, it allows you to hear your TV playing clearly
A little bird at the FCC just tipped us off to a low-cost fitness band that’s about to hit the market known as the Bowflex Boost. Like competing devices, it promises to track one’s daily activities, calories burned and even quality of sleep, but as a key differentiator, it’ll cost only $50. Similar to competitors such as the Nike FuelBand, Fitbit Flex and Jawbone Up, it’ll also come with a companion iOS app, which syncs fitness data over Bluetooth and helps users stay accountable to their fitness goals. The Bowflex Boost was first announced this month during the earnings call of parent company Nautilus, which will leverage its direct-to-consumer sales channels to bring the bracelet to market in September. We’re still curious to see what sort of sacrifices you’ll need to make in exchange for the lower cost, but it seems that all will be revealed next month… perhaps in an infomercial.
Filed under: Wearables
Source: FCC, Bowflex Boost, The Oregonian, The Columbian
* Tactic would be alternative to government shutdown threat on Obamacare
* Cantor aide says debt limit could be way to try to force action
* Another leadership aide says there are discussions but no decision yet
By Caren Bohan
WASHINGTON, Aug 21 (Reuters) – U.S. Republican lawmakers, who staunchly oppose President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law, are considering using a fall showdown over the country’s borrowing limit as leverage to try to delay the law’s implementation.
The idea is gaining traction among Republican leaders in the House of Representatives, aides said on Wednesday. An aide to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the debt limit is a “good leverage point” to try to force some action on the healthcare law known as “Obamacare.”
“There are plenty of discussions ongoing but no decisions at this point,” said another leadership aide.
Republicans are weighing the tactic as an alternative to another approach that would involve denying funding for the law and threatening a possible government shutdown.
The push to deny funding for Obamacare has the backing of some prominent Republican senators, including Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida.
But many Republicans in both the House and the Senate oppose the shutdown strategy, viewing it as a reckless move that is bound to fail. Many worry the gambit would cause a backlash against their party ahead of the 2014 congressional elections.
When lawmakers return on Sept. 9 from their five-week summer recess, they will face two fall deadlines. If Congress does not pass a measure by Oct. 1 to keep federal agencies funded, the government will shut down.
Another standoff looms in late October or early November when lawmakers must pass an increase in the U.S. debt limit or face a default on the country’s debt.
Under one scenario for tackling the fall fiscal fights, Republicans might pass a two-month spending bill at the end of September. That would remove any threat of a shutdown before the debt limit deadline comes up.
REPUBLICANS EYE FALL OBAMACARE ROLLOUT
As Congress and Obama spar over spending and the debt limit this fall, Obama will also be focused on the rollout of key provisions of the health care law that kick in at the beginning of 2014.
Republicans see the coming weeks as their last chance to try to stop or weaken the law. They contend the law will be a burden on businesses and cost jobs.
In the House of Representatives, Congressman Mark Meadows, a Republican from North Carolina, has been trying to rally House Republicans behind the government shutdown strategy and plans to release a letter on Thursday signed by lawmakers who support that tactic.
Those who are cool to the shutdown strategy include Cantor and House Speaker John Boehner. Just before lawmakers headed out on their August recess, Boehner sought to rally Republicans behind an alternative approaches to undermining Obamacare.
In a closed-door meeting with House Republicans Boehner said the chamber would “take targeted, regular votes” throughout the fall aimed at weakening Obamacare.
With lawmakers still scattered throughout the country during the summer break, Boehner plans to hold a conference call on Thursday with Republican House members.
A senior Republican aide said Boehner holds such calls every August and that the purpose “is just to hear from members” about what constituents are saying.
With Obamacare a top issue for many lawmakers, it is sure to be discussed during the call.
In town hall-style gatherings and meetings that lawmakers are having with constituents during the recess, Obamacare has emerged as one of the biggest issues.
“There’s concern, there’s worry and then there’s anger and fear,” said Congressman Marlin Stutzman, a Republican of Indiana.
Stutzman said he plans to sign the letter being circulated by Meadows of North Carolina calling for a defunding of Obamacare.
On Wednesday night, at a lively town hall meeting in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Republican Representative Charlie Dent called Obamacare “fatally flawed” and predicted it would lead employers to cut workers’ hours or jobs.
The Pennsylvania lawmaker talked of a hotel owner who confided to him that he’s worried he will need to cut his workers’ hours to part time. Starting in 2015, the law will require many companies to provide insurance for full-time employees.
Unlike Stutzman, Dent does not support using the threat of a government shutdown as leverage on Obamacare. He said he didn’t think the tactic would work.
Obamacare was raised repeatedly by attendees at the town hall, although other issues such as immigration and tax reform also came up.
Conservative groups, including Heritage Action for America, have been holding events in lawmakers’ districts to try to pressure them to support the push to withhold funding for the healthcare law.
Heritage Action is spending $550,000 on online ads and is holding a multi-state tour to push the issue.
Read More…
More on Republicans
The Japan Robot Association (JARA) and Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun are gearing up to host the 20th bi-ennial iREX International Robot Exhibition here in Tokyo. This is Japan’s Big Show, and naturally, AkihabaraNews is going to be all over it – here’s a bit of what to expect:
Logitech has announced two new folio products aimed towards iPad Mini owners who want a bit of protection and a mobile keyboard without bidding farewell to the tablet’s thin form factor. The Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Folio and Folio Protective Case are both aimed at the smaller iPad model, and promise to be both ultrathin and […]
If you were to re-draw the map of the world according to each countries population, you would get a warped world that looked like this. Some giant countries like Canada and Australia become tiny strips and dots while other giant countries like China and India predictably inflate and take over the map. You can also see how crowded some countries are, Japan is bigger than Mexico! But at least all these countries made it on the map, Iceland and Belize didn’t even have enough people to show up.
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NEW YORK — The surprising new front-runner in the mayor’s race received the bulk of the attacks Wednesday in a free-wheeling and often testy debate, the clearest sign yet that the dynamic of the race has changed with less than three weeks to go until the Democratic primary.
Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who has a slight lead in recent polls, engaged in several spirited back-and-forths with his two closest competitors vying for the two spots in a seemingly inevitable run-off.
Give a national museum a 3D scanner and it’ll archive its entire collection. Give it an X-ray machine though, and it’ll show you the innards of a space suit. As part of its Suited for Space exhibit, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum ran a series of astronauts’ work-wear through a CT scanner. The results (above and below) are more than a little haunting, with all manner of hidden buckles, straps and sensors exposed against ghostly transparent fabrics. Why X-rays? Because according to Wired, the Smithsonian wanted to see how the suits were put together, but deconstructing them without damage wasn’t exactly feasible. Seeing the level of detail required to keep our spacewalkers safe on the job via online pictures is one thing, but scoping it out in person is likely much cooler. If you want an up-close look for yourself, you have until December 1st to make the trip to Washington, D.C.
Via: The Verge
Source: Wired, Smithsonian
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